The biggest story to come from the spring sports season in Colonie was also the most unexpected.
After winning only three games during the regular season, the Shaker boys lacrosse team went on an improbable playoff run. The Blue Bison knocked off No. 2 Guilderland in the Section II, Class A quarterfinals and then defeated No. 3 Shenendehowa in the semifinals before losing to No. 1 seed Niskayuna in the finals.
Perhaps the run wasn’t completely improbable, though. Of Shaker’s 14 regular season losses, eight were by one or two goals, including a 7-6 overtime loss to Niskayuna in April.
You’ve got to give them credit. A lot of teams might have given up after losing as many close games as we did, and we didn’t, said Shaker coach Shawn Hennessey.
The highlight of Shaker’s playoff run came against Guilderland. Sophomore goaltender Ken O’Connor stopped 20 shots, and Stefan Dabkowski scored with three seconds left in the first overtime period to help the Blue Bison defeat the Dutchmen 7-6.
`A lot of it was Kenny because when they were shooting, he was either making saves or they were missing the cage,` said Hennessey.
After a 9-5 semifinal victory over Shen, Shaker faced an undefeated Niskayuna squad in the finals. The Blue Bison rallied from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game at 3 midway through the third quarter, but the Silver Warriors went on a 5-0 run between the final 30 seconds of the third quarter and the first nine minutes of the fourth quarter to pull away for an 8-4 victory.
`There are no losers for us because people counted us out when we had a poor record in the regular season, and we proved them wrong,` said Hennessey. `It was a dream that we had to wake up from today.`
While Shaker’s playoff run seemingly came out of nowhere, crosstown rival Colonie’s run to the Sectional semifinals was fitting for a team that won the Suburban Council Gold Division title. The Garnet Raiders finished the regular season with a 13-3 record and then beat Bethlehem and Christian Brothers Academy before falling to Niskayuna in the semifinals.
`We knew at the beginning of the season that we can be here,` said Garrett Dollard, one of Colonie’s leading scorers. `It shows that Colonie is a program on the rise and that we need to be watched.`
In other spring sports news:
The Shaker girls lacrosse team reached the Section II, Class A finals for the second consecutive year. The Blue Bison edged Saratoga 11-10 in the semifinals before losing to Guilderland 18-10 in the finals. Guilderland handed Shaker (16-3) all three of its losses this season.
Along the way, Shaker weathered a storm when head coach Carrie Britt resigned midway through the regular season. Junior varsity coach Leslie Carroll took over and guided the Blue Bison to the finals.
`To be honest, I’ve coached every single girl on this team except for two,` said Carroll. `So, this has been a pretty smooth transition.`
The Colonie softball team went back to the Section II, Class AA finals, where it lost to Shenendehowa 4-1.
The Garnet Raiders were ranked No. 1 in the state after a fast start, but an injury to starting pitcher Toni Fusco rattled Colonie, as it lost several games down the stretch. Once Fusco returned, the Garnet Raiders regained their stride as they mowed down their Sectional competition to get to the finals.
Shaker and Colonie both reached the Section II, Class AA quarterfinals in baseball. Shaker knocked off CBA in the opening round before losing to Bethlehem, while Colonie defeated Albany before losing its quarterfinal game against Columbia on a last-inning home run.
Loudonville Christian received the No. 1 seed in the Class D playoffs after finishing second in the Central Hudson Valley League standings, but the Eagles lost in the quarterfinals.
Academy of Holy Names star Claire Hardwick had a strong performance at the New York State Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Buffalo. The Loudonville native placed second among Division 2 (small school) runners and sixth overall in the girls Federation 3,000-meter race with a time of 9:54.38.
Shaker’s Craig Weiss finished fourth in Division 1 (large schools) and sixth overall in the boys Federation 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:44.27. Colonie had two boys relay teams that placed at states ` the 1,600-meter relay (sixth in Division 1) and the 3,200 relay (fifth in Division 1, sixth in Federation).“